Month: November 2015

Some in government and others are starting to raise concerns over the growth of the “Gig Economy“. In recent years, the profile of freelancers has been raised greatly. The internet has had a lot to do with this since those who possess skills in certain areas are consistently making their services available to those who would benefit from them. Certainly, the freelancers do well by putting their talents and abilities on the open market. Everything from supplemental to full incomes have been made by freelancers. In some cases, the incomes earned have been quite lucrative.

Where does the controversy come into play? Not everyone is fond of employers hiring freelancers since the freelancers replaced the traditional full-time employees. Issues regarding worker protections are raised. Often, the freelancers do not even worry about these things. Still, a controversy seems to have been manufactured. Still, people are talking about the subject.

Talk has recently arisen regarding the development of portable benefits. In a nutshell, portable benefits would entail developing spins on traditional worker’s compensation, paid leave, unemployment insurance, and more for independent contractors. How feasible it would be to actually develop working portable models for these types of benefits remains to be seen.

The Good Work Code is something that is being discussed as well. The concept entails creating a platform for rules companies and freelancers must adhere to when working together. Ideas such as these are going to garner more and more press as the gig economy grows and experiences an increase in its profile.

The gig economy is growing and growing for a simple reason. Customers are able to hire professionals to deliver a service and freelancers are able to make a good living. The company Handy helps facilitate these arrangements. Handy provides an app that allows customers to book home maintenance and cleaning freelancers. Paying for services via the app is easy and anyone working through Handy must complete a rigorous screening process.

Handy has become wildly successful thanks to its rather simple business plan. Nearly 30 cities are home to Handy offices. That number is going to increase significantly thanks to a successful round of capital raising. Handy is definitely going to ride the gig economy to even greater achievements.

Handy is a budding start up company run by four young men who want to be the Uber of home cleaning services. Formed in 2012 under the original name, Handybook, founders Oisin Hanrahan, Umang Dua, Ignacio Leonhardt, and Weine Scott sought to offer and easier, hassle-free experience in finding a home service provider. With the use of their app or website it takes only a few minutes for you to find, book and pay a freelance worker to come repair or clean your home. With customer reviews, profiles and pictures it can ease the tension of allowing a stranger into your home.

Since their launch Handy has skyrocketed into success, an article published on ‘Tech Crunch‘, Handy announced they have raised $50 million dollars in funding for the company’s expansion. Based in New York City Handy reportedly books 10,000 jobs per month and has registered 10,000 free lance employees to complete those jobs for their expansive customer base. Their expansion plans have been laid out to extend their services to cities they already serve before expanding to new cities. Currently their overseas market is limited to London but they hope by the end of 2016 they have more countries on their list of serviced areas.

Smart phones have replaced the way we order food, transportation and now home services. Their rival Homejoy, has had some set backs because of the two-sided market. Handy is working on closing the gap for their customers so their services are perfected with no snags or issues. Handy’s CEO has stated their reasoning behind working on smaller, already serviced markets is due to huge companies like Google or Amazon delving into the home service industry. By perfecting their services with their current customer base they can ensure repeat customers instead of risking loosing them. Handy’s goals are focused on the happiness of their customers which helps them continue to grow and thrive.